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Auckland Transport (AT) has decided not to proceed with a paid parking proposal for the Devonport waterfront.
In July last year, AT proposed introducing parking meters to Queens Parade and part of King Edward Parade in the North Shore suburb.
It planned to install $2 power hour meters, which it said would help improve parking availability and turnover for local businesses.
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A year on from that proposal, AT are no longer moving ahead, in response to what they called “community concerns”.
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Local heritage advocacy group Devonport Heritage had opposed the plan, saying they were concerned the parking meters would be “visual pollution” on what they said was one of the most highly valued heritage waterfronts in Auckland.
They said parking meters did not fit in with the town’s harbour view, iconic pōhutukawa trees, shell paths and heritage charm.
Speaking to Stuff at the time, Deputy chairperson Trish Deans said AT had failed to consider that Devonport was well-known for being a heritage area.
“It’s just visually unattractive and unneeded,” she said. “It’s cluttering, it’s blocking the views, it’s adding more signs. It’s not what we want.”
“We understand that we’re asking for something different for a heritage area, and I think the public would understand that the visual beauty of this area should be preserved,” she said.
If the heritage can't be impacted by a parking meter, then surely all the on-street parking needs to go too - those modern cars just don't fit in the heritage of the space.
Have your say on 30-year plan for infrastructure
New Zealand’s infrastructure — our roads, pipes, schools, power lines, hospitals, and much more — affects all of us, every day. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, is developing a National Infrastructure Plan that can help tell us what we need to do to fix what’s not working, and how we can plan better for the future.
The Commission has recently put out a draft Plan that they are seeking feedback on.
The draft Plan includes actions that the Commission suggests we take to make sure that we’ll have the infrastructure we need today and in the future. They are interested in hearing from New Zealanders about what’s right in the draft Plan and what issues the draft Plan misses. Feedback received will help inform the final National Infrastructure Plan that will be presented to the Government later this year.
You can share your views through the Commission’s website, either through a feedback survey – where you don’t have to have read the Plan - or through writing a submission: https://tewaihanga.govt.nz/feedback
Coming from two generations of bus drivers, Aucklander Robert Richards wasn't always keen on following his father and grandfather's footsteps, but it has turned him into a social media influencer.
The 29-year-old, known as Robby, was convinced by his father to give it a go when his job in retail didn't work out.
Taking charge of the NX2 double decker, which runs between the CBD and Albany on the North Shore, Richards noticed there were social media fan accounts of particular bus routes – but none from a driver’s perspective.
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Robby celebrates 6,000 followers on Instagram with a cake that has bus NX2 printed on it.[/caption]
“I was very surprised and my imagination was kind of bubbling a bit, because I felt left out,” he told RNZ's First Up. “I'm like this is a big opportunity that I have to think about.”
With his passion for acting, Richards set up an Instagram account for his bus route and, in his first post in May last year, compared his life with Ryan Gosling’s character in the film Drive.
"One day later, Auckland Transport reposted it on their Instagram story and I was shocked,” Richards says.
"I was surprised. I felt like a kid who saw himself on TV because I was just going to post one silly video and then leave it alone.
"After that, it inspired me to make another video. And that video got a million views and I was hooked.”
Takapuna Golf Course Plans
Earlier this year it was revealed that Auckland Council wanted to transform some of the Takapuna golf course to act as flood storage. This comes as part of their response to mitigate a repeat of the 2023 floods. Now a design concept for the change has been released.
It has chosen a design concept that could allow for both flood resilience and a nine-hole golf course with a driving range at AF Thomas Park, also known as Takapuna Golf Course.
The council said the project aimed to reduce downstream flood flow through Wairau Creek, cutting flood risk to more than 250 homes and three residential care homes in Milford.
It would also protect critical infrastructure and access to key facilities such as North Shore Hospital and Westlake Boys' and Girls' High Schools, as well as Eventfinda Stadium.
Auckland Council general manager, healthy waters and flood resilience Craig Mcilroy said the project was a response to the 2023 Auckland floods which heavily impacted parts of Auckland's North Shore.
"We heard from the community that they wanted us to move swiftly and decisively while protecting the recreational greenspace they love. This design concept achieves both and we can now progress this important work."
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At the same April meeting, the committee requested that the proposed concept be reviewed alongside an alternative put forward by existing leaseholders of AF Thomas Park, Takapuna Golf Course. It explores whether an 18-hole golf course could be retained on the land while providing the same level of flood storage.
Tom Mansell, Auckland Council head of sustainable partnerships (healthy waters & flood resilience) said the golf club's initial proposal, creating a large number of smaller stormwater storage ponds throughout the park, was soon found to be unfeasible due to cost and maintenance requirements.
The council granted the golf course a one-month extension to provide an another option. A subsequent design was submitted by the golf club which was a very similar approach, both in land formation and stormwater detention, to the Auckland Council design.
"The council has worked closely with Takapuna Golf Course to complete a feasibility assessment of the two proposals. An eight-step technical review ensured both options were evaluated fairly for feasibility, cost-effectiveness as well as addressing environmental considerations," Mansell said.
"Both the council proposal and the golf course's revised proposal have similarities in terms of placement and the method of storing stormwater on the site. We're confident in the single design concept that's come out of the feasibility assessment and are ready to move this project forward for our communities."
Given this is the side of the motorway chosen for the eventual Northern Pathway, I wonder if that could be incorporated at the same time. Also, given this would open up the space for more public use, it would be great to see a bridge across from Smales Farm station, which would have the benefit of improving the catchment of the busway
Running errands by eBike
The Spinoff's Tommy de Silva took a look at using an electric cargo bike, including carrying self-loading cargo.
In my impatient eagerness, I actually picked up the wrong bike from Electric Bike Team (EBT), a bright yellow number set up with a back rack seat that can carry multiple kids, or even an adult. “Everyone always thinks about how cargo-bikes can carry kids, but people aren’t talking about the fact that kidless adults can pick up their mate from the pub on the back of one of these,” explained Helen, the EBT kaimahi who helped me out.
With Helen’s mandate in mind, my partner and I tested the first bike’s tandem capacity. Together we joy-rode around our suburb before journeying to our date night dinner spot. Our neighbours looked slightly confused as we rode past. Seeing two adults comfortably sharing one bike is clearly still a novel experience.
Almost two weeks ago I was hit by a car while biking to work. As an advocate for road safety I can see the irony of becoming part of the statistics myself, watching the many personal and system impacts of an accident in the unforgiving road environment I’ve been working with others to improve.
I spend a lot of time in council meetings trying to close the caring gap; the deep chasm between the genuine concern of elected members and AT leaders about specific individual people being hurt vs the very obvious actions we need to take to lessen the risk and harm. I will keep talking to them all about this, now with very personal anecdotes, to try to build that vital bridge across.
Talking is a key part of my day job as an elected councillor and I have a tendency to talk to other road users as I bike around. I say “Thank you for the space”, “Oh you do have indicators after all”, and, most often, “Do you see me?” Of course drivers can’t hear me, they are in their metal boxes, as am I when I drive, and often I follow up “Do you see me?” with “Yes you can, good job”.
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Nevertheless, I can’t carry anything beyond what I can fit and balance in pockets, which means I need people at home to get me anything I don’t have to hand already (like the laptop I’m writing this on).
Critically, this includes food. I can’t put a meal in a pocket or a bag and hang it off my walking frame. I can’t stand at a bench balanced on one leg for long enough to brush my teeth for a full two minutes, let alone cook or prepare a sandwich. I can’t heat a meal in the microwave and carry it to a seat nearby. And I can’t go out because going up and down our stairs is perilous, even with help.
Waikato Regional Council is proposing a shake-up of Hamilton’s bus network that would see more frequent buses on fewer routes, in a shift aimed at boosting public transport use across the city.
Under the plan, three key routes, Orbiter, Comet and Meteor, along with a new Rototuna line, would operate as high-frequency services with buses running every 15 minutes from 7am to 10pm, and every 30 minutes outside those hours, from 6am to midnight, seven days a week including public holidays.
To make this work, the council is proposing to reduce coverage elsewhere in the city, consolidating or replacing existing services and asking passengers to walk further to get to them..
According to the council, the trade-off reflects ‘international best practice’ and local data showing passengers are willing to walk further for more reliable, ‘turn up and go’ bus services.
Auckland FC’s Rich List investors have pulled the plug on their proposal to build a new sports arena at Western Springs Stadium.
The decision marks the end of months of speculation and heated debate over the future of the iconic speedway site.
It comes after the planned stadium had won the backing of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), the council agency declaring the Auckland Arena proposal to be its preferred option for the site.
However, the proposal was not a clear favourite with Aucklanders. Feedback released by Auckland Council today showed that more people wanted to explore other options for the site or back a bid for a Western Springs Bowl which would host the local rugby club and concerts.
The Auckland FC investors told the Herald in a statement: ”After considerable effort and reflection, those behind Auckland Arena have made the difficult decision to withdraw their proposal for Western Springs.
